Painfully Hip » Street Style

The Unrepentant Tourist – Barrio Vintage, Honolulu

amber — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 20:39:39 +0000

This was the second time in my life a best friend had announced to me that they were sorry to tell me but they were suddenly moving to Hawaii. Oh hell, no. Bradley and I had developed a friendship which was way too pure for this goddamn world and its …weather. So I invited myself to visit him and his exceedingly blue-eyed boyfriend, Jonathan in their heavenly studio loft in Chinatown, Honolulu.
For 2 months.

They didn’t say no.

Friendship! We swam with sea turtles, rope-swung, hiked towering watertrickles, drank mai tais on premature afternoons, crashed infinity hot tubs at sunset, buoyed ourselves in the warm and silvering dusklit Pacific, and turned a bottle of wine and a dirty concrete slab overlooking moonlit freighters into our own personal loveseat… And we were so good-looking!

But mostly, we opened a vintage boutique (rather, Bradley and Jonathan opened it while I pretended to be right about everything), Barrio Vintage, a concept pop-up. What a dream! Leather, cashmere, Gucci, Dior, preposterous prices….

Quite literally speaking, it was paradise.

Then Rian Flynn came and shit got real:

Photos by Rian Flynn
Styled by Amber Mortensen and Bradley Rhea
Model, Johnelle Anderson
Clothing from Barrio Vintage

Barrio Vintage is open every First Friday at the Chinatown Artists’ Lofts. Add them on Facebook to find out more.

Bike Chic from Let’s Go Ride a Bike

amber — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:09:47 +0000

Everyone should know that bicycles are the most efficient, perfect pieces of machinery ever invented. Lets Go Ride a Bike is a great Chicago city cycling blog who recently featured my bike photo in their Bicycle Beauty post. There were so many good photos, I just couldn’t resist re-posting my faves. Just look at these girls! I’m ODing on glee!

I get a lot of comments/questions about proper attire for riding bikes. My advice? Get real good at riding and wear pretty much anything you want! I wear some really stupid stuff on my bike (for serious – can you say leather shorts? 4 inch wedges? pencil skirts? Ok ok, I was cheating with that last one, mine unbuttons down the front).

My point is, just RIDE YOUR BIKE! It really is the only way to get around these days.

Chicks and Bikes

Cherry Blossom Girl

The Sartorialist

via NaturallyNina.com

Frolic

road trips, beach houses and what to wear on a romantic weekend getaway

diana — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:39:26 +0000

immediately after amber announced our road-trip plans for the summer, (i’ve been alternating between squealing and practice-packing for the past 2 weeks…) we both decided we needed to take mini-vacations.

i think it’s worth mentioning that we did not consult each other when making these weekend-getaway plans, and this is not the first time we’ve both had the same thought pattern at the same time, an entire state away from each other and considered ourselves original. (case number one: earlier in the week we discovered we will both be in brooklyn for the same week next month. yep, us west-coast gals will be meeting for the entirely un-planned first time, about 3 million miles from our homes.)

you could say that amber and i are kind of like the same person. (PLEASE let that start some internet-drama where someone accuses us of actually being the same person. please? please?!)

anyway, we’re not the same person. amber’s holed up in a sweet beach-house in sunny california this weekend, and i’m forcing a boy i like very much to participate in some romantic-getaway thrifting in northern az. and you know what else? i can pretty much guarantee that between amber and i, i’m the only one who remembered to pack my favorite wooden road-trip outfit:

thrift star of the day: style up to here

amber — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 23:55:13 +0000

originally uploaded by the owl and the grapes for wardrobe remix
It is a tough thing to swallow that parts of this outfit were bought by the kilo – she looks like millions of bucks. Pure cloche bliss. Miss Emma Peel of the Owl and the Grapes is just devastating on a spiritual level.

Oh happy day! Tomorrow marks the launch of the Painfully Hip Design Collective, a motley co-op of talented local designers, vintage curators, photographers, models, makeup and hair stylists, all working together to create beguiling, artful fashion editorials.

What does this mean besides candy for your peepers? Painfully Hip readers will get exclusive access to the featured one-of-a-kind designer or vintage pieces for purchase on the Collective’s new Etsy site! The goal is to expose the exploding northern California fashion scene, its pristine vintage, and all the things we are capable of.

I am seriously, seriously excited about this! So much so that I can’t resist revealing a lil’ sneak peek of our first shoot, featuring clothes from Thunderhorse Vintage, who specialize in the 80s and 90s:

More tomorrow! Check back often to be the first to get your hands on one of-a-kind bootie!

Mad Boy: America’s Most Stylish 8 year old

amber — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:11:53 +0000

Oh happy day, Eve just found out seconds ago that the lil’ tinykins currently inhabiting her womb is a BOY! Soon to be named Ennio. Yesterday we were agreeing about how it seems that no amount of frills and lace can make a baby girl any cuter, but the absolute cutest way to dress a boy is to dress him like an old man.

In celebration of today, I just HAD to post these photos from GQ of Arlo Weiner (son of the creator of HBO’s Mad Men), currently being touted as America’s Most Stylish 8 year old. Needless to say? I believe.

“This is my Valentine’s Day outfit. The jacket and the pants are velvet. I love the tie because it’s really two ties stacked on top of each other. (My dad had to tie it for me.) The pink tie matched the pink shirt. I wore brown-and-white argyle socks for a random pattern.”

“My mom got the jacket for me—I love it because I love Frank Sinatra and this is like something he would wear. I wore the jacket with the pants because I like the different plaids together. I thought the blue in the necklace brought out the blue in the pants. It’s a blue orb with fire around it.”

“I have a lot of black outfits these days, so I needed the red ascot to add some color. I love red and black together—they each make the other stand out. I’ve worn this to school about 12 times.”

“The hat is like a Frank Sinatra hat. I wore the jacket with the tie because green and gray are my favorite blend. I’m holding my dad’s bag in the picture, but at school I use my dad’s old brown leather satchel.”

“This is my favorite outfit. The tie is a regular tie, but I tied it like that because I’ve seen it done that way in old English movies. Even though the tie and the jacket are different colors, they’re both striped, so I thought they looked right together. And I wore the vest and pants together because they’re both shades of red.”

It’s really funny too that Diana posted about stylish young’uns yesterday. We’re just on the same mission to elevate “cute” into the art-form it is.

Check out more of the adorable Arlo Weiner here:

“I was going to play miniature golf with my brother Charlie. You can see how much I like to mix patterns. I love argyle—I was wearing argyle socks, too. The red ascot brings out the red in the pants. The only thing I was unsure of was whether the shirt would be weird with the rest of the outfit, but I wore it anyway because it was too hot to wear long sleeves. The hat used to be my dad’s.”

“We were going to Getty Village and then having breakfast on the beach. I wanted to wear black and white. Most of my ties, like this one, are clip-ons.”

“I thought the sunglasses would go well with the pants because they’re both gold. The tie on my neck—that used to be the belt for my bathrobe, but I shortened it and turned it into that. I put the tie with the jacket because I liked the patterns together. My grandma gave me the cane. I thought it looked good with the pants.”

“I like to put random patterns together, so I picked out the green checkerboard tie with the gray checked jacket and then I wore the red vest underneath, because red stands out and brings the colors together.”

Congratulations, Squeevies! I love you!

thrift stars of the day: spotted at Girl Talk, Congress Theater

amber — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:03:16 +0000

My friend Pat got us guest-listed to Girl Talk on Saturday night, so I was able to get up enough liquid courage (comprised of free Stella Artois) to snap the hippest kids I could find in the VIP box, Morgan and J.R…

Oh glorious accessories.

Of course the view was equally as opulent when we turned around:

(this photo taken by Pat, the rest by me)

thrift star of the day: awesome all day

amber — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:34:02 +0000

I’ve been wanting to include more random streetstyle photos on this blog, but the problem is that I get incredibly shy about approaching people with my camera, especially intimidatingly stylish people. But one of my best friends in the world, Rory of AwesomeAllDay.com (seriously kids, check it out. Especially if you enjoy things that involve NO SHAME. A very good read.), makes perhaps the best streetstyle liaison one could hope for – he’s likeable, fashionable, and willing to approach almost anyone and be their friend. Except for, perhaps, a rabid grizzly bear. The band though, no problem. In fact, he’s probably already done shots of Jameson with them.

Anyway, here are some photos he took of his adorable friend Adam as he was sighted on the streets of San Francisco. The actual streets, not the show.

shirt- thrifted
jacket – thrifted
boots – thrifted
jeans – diesel
Everything that was thrifted was thrifted in Portland.
All. Hail. Portland.

Ask Painfully Hip: What to Wear Whilst Weight is Waning?

amber — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:43:01 +0000

Hey!
I love your blog!! It has helped me begin to tune in on what styles really work for me and fit my personality. Recently, I cleaned out my whole closet and got rid of A LOT clothes that I know I don’t wear. But also, i’ve been losing weight, and I don’t know what to wear during these in between times. I haven’t dropped a clothes size yet, but I know I’m close to it, so I really don’t know what to do! I kind of let go of a lot of my old styles, but am reluctant to buy new clothes because I’m afraid they will be too big for me in a few months. Do you have any suggestions?

Thank you,
Jo

Ah, the awkward stage. Nothing fun about being in-between. Firstly I should say that really, instead of “getting rid” of all those old clothes, you should have thrown a clothing swap, missy! Then we wouldn’t be having this problem. Have I tought you nothing? Well, make sure you do throw a clothing swap once you drop the full size and you’re set! I’ll forgive you just this once and try to help you out here, nonetheless.

I recently (accidently) lost almost 10 lbs. on what I like to call “the single diet”- I was newly single, and I hate to cook for just myself, am incredibly busy/lazy (case in point: it took me exactly 4 months to finish this post – Sorry Jo) and have no real schedule, so I end up living off mere snacks whenever I remember to eat. But I was able to keep a lot of my old clothes since I figured out a few tricks with some styles that still look good on me now that they’re a tad bit oversized.

You’re also very lucky because the oversized look just happens to be a la mode, as beautifully illustrated by Betty. Check it.

But if you are sick of your old wardrobe and really just want to show off your waning waist, here are a few pieces you can invest in to maximize your existing wardrobe and flatter your quickly-slimming new figure.

A corset belt.
Trapeze styles may be on the out, but you can still wear those overly-forgiving babydoll dresses from last year by cinching them with a wide belt. Get a nice statement belt that will make you feel like a stunnah even if you’re wearing your comfy “I’m bloated and lazy clothes.” You can also use it to cinch too-big pants and skirts into a chic paperbag waist.

la meow for wardrobe_remix

A cool belt paired with opaque tights or leggings is also a good way to convert your spring dresses and tops into layering lovelies for fall.

corazones rojos for for wardrobe_remix

fashionfillers.com

High-waisted skirts or jeans.
Tuck a loose-fitting t-shirt or frilly blouse into high-waisted vintage skirts or pants and you’re instantly tailored.

johnnycutcorners for wardrobe_remix

A cropped vest.
Give your too-big dress or top a little structure and a style-injection with a vest that hits right at the waist.

tralfamadarling for wardrobe_remix

Most of all, it’s good to be healthy but don’t be too hard on yourself and remember this:

You’re more beautiful than you think – the flaws that you believe are constantly glaring out at the world like a large goiter are most likely only visible to you. Be unrepentant. Be happy to be you. Wear your personality and creativity with the confidence that you know exactly who you are and what you love, and eventually your peacock swagger will appear, along with the realization that you really are precisely as hot as you feel.

SO TAKE A FEW CHANCES AND HAVE FUN SHOPPING!

The Most Painfully Hip Site of the Week: Advanced Style

amber — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 19:22:24 +0000

My friend Ira of Being Totally Sweet In Chicago pointed me toward this site that has been getting a lot of press lately called Advanced Style which features photos of, er, mature men and women with amazing style. I bet when I’m older I’ll be wearing the craziest duds I can lay my hands on just because, so what, I’m your elder.

Check this out, these elders look amazing and can probably pull off ANYTHING.

Bead Artist, Suzanne Golden

Style Maven, Anna Piagi
(a young Piagi was highlighted in this post)

Its incredibly comforting to know that perhaps someday I’ll be aged to perfection. Yay!

check out the locals: second saturday street style

amber — Tue, 13 May 2008 05:53:39 +0000

One of the best things about midtown is the Second Saturday Art Walk. Every 2nd Saturday of the month, independent businesses and galleries all over town put on art exhibitions with free wine and cheese, and feature craft fairs and fashion shows. Roving gaggles of locals who are high on springtime invade the streets, and everyone and their dog throws a kegger. It’s actually kind of ridiculous.

Anyway, I snapped a few well-dressed ladies all in the midst of (1) throwing an art party at a successful and very reasonably priced vintage boutique in a sailor-inspired backless 70′s jumpsuit, (2) belting a barefoot tune and brandishing redheaded bliss (both of which which would put Tori Amos to shame), and (3) buying a parking ticket in an elegant caftan-style mini dress.